Day 125: Gotta Get a Message to You

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Bee Gees way Redcliffe

YOU don’t have to be a Bee Gees fan to appreciate this open-air museum in Redcliffe but if you are, then it’s your lucky day.

A 50m lane off the esplanade is dedicated entirely to the supergroup who had their humble beginnings in Brisbane in the late 1950s.

 

Bee Gees Way Redcliffe
The 50m laneway of Bee Gees Way

One of their childhood homes in the northern Brisbane suburbs is just up the road and it’s said that they once fished off the pier across the road.

The whole trip down Bee Gees lane is accompanied by their music (of course) and interviews showing on a big screen.

The walls tell the story of the kids from Redcliffe who sold more than 220 million records around the world.

Bee Gees Way Redcliffe
Have your photo taken with the Bee Gees

There are two life-size statues, one of them in their heyday on the world stage and another as a group of kids starting out, as well as stories, photos, quotes and memorabilia and a copy of the Bee Gees’ first contract.

The Gibb family – Barry, twins Robin and Maurice, sister Lesley and little brother Andy, moved from Manchester in England to Brisbane in 1958.

They lived in various northern suburbs including Redcliffe, Northgate and Cribb Island, a suburb that disappeared to make way for the Brisbane Airport.

Bee Gees way Redcliffe
The boys – Barry, Robin and Maurice – start out

The brothers had their first big outing at the Redcliffe Speedway.

The family moved to Sydney in 1963 and then back to the UK in 1967, but their story lives on in Redcliffe.

Barry Gibb, who with his sister Lesley, are the only surviving family members, was given a hero’s welcome when he returned for the opening of the lane which was completed in two stages, one in 2013 and another in 2015.

Bee Gees Way Redcliffe
The entrance to Bee Gees Way

“After 57 years I went to Moreton Island, I had never been there. I would look at it in the distance,” he said on his return.

Between Redcliffe Parade and Sutton Street, the lane has been officially gazetted as Bee Gees Way and is an amazing tribute to an amazing group and essential viewing if you still recognise the opening keys of Spicks and Specks.

Bee Gees way Redcliffe
Life story in an open-air museum
Bee Gees Way Redcliffe
The pier where it said the Bee Gees fished as kids